


Butterfly Kiss

by TheRudeTasteofSane



Category: K-pop, SHINee
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-11
Updated: 2015-12-11
Packaged: 2018-05-06 01:59:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5398583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRudeTasteofSane/pseuds/TheRudeTasteofSane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gwiboon was ready to give up looking for Jinki until he found her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Butterfly Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> Non-graphic character death. I got inspired to write this after I binge-watched Kamisama Kiss on Hulu lol.

During the long years of her life, Gwiboon watched humankind grow and flourish, sometimes guiding with a gentler hand than they deserved.

After all, what were gods for if not guiding humanity in their times of need?

Her power, following hundreds of years of growth, was almost comically at odds with her appearance. Only slightly more mature now than the high schooler she had been when she’d had god-hood thrust upon her. She could be anywhere from 17 to 25. Sometimes Gwiboon was thankful for her youthful appearance. More often, it wasn’t worth the headache.

Still, she persevered through the years like the truest of her kind. Perhaps more calmly than in her youth, but otherwise not much had changed.

Taemin, who’d been at her side as her familiar since before she’d become immortal, admitted that he was surprised she hadn’t changed her more because of her gift (which she was more inclined to call a curse).

She wasn’t. She hadn’t allowed herself to dwell on change for too long, to think about too much about how all the people she’d ever cared about were dead. Except one.

Several hundred years had passed since Gwiboon last saw Jinki. But the memory of him walking away was still almost as painful as it was the day after he’d left, when she woke up and saw all of his belongings gone from their spaces.

It had been unbearable to realize that she took much longer to grieve than she was used to. Jinki's departure was a scabbed-over sore, just barely beginning to heal these many years later.

And her friends...

Over 300 years and she had yet to recover from the death of her final human friend. The last one she'd ever have, she promised herself. The heartache just wasn't worth it anymore.

And so, even though he’d said he never wanted to see her again, Gwiboon searched for Jinki.

Not because she wanted to kill him for his betrayal. But because he was all she had left.

It was her ultimate goal, to see him one last time, to tell him the things she wished she had said before she let him go forever.

\--

_"Gwiboon."_

_She turned and faced Jinki, frowning when she noticed the marked change in his image. The once muddy brown eyes had become shimmering gold. They were staring at her dispassionately._

_"Yes, Jinki?" she had gotten better at hiding her emotions in her voice, but in his present state she had no doubts that Jinki could smell her apprehension._

_"You told me at one time that if I ever tired of being your familiar to let you know. I’m tired, Gwiboon. Listen closely. This is the only time I'll say this. You have been the most rude, assuming god that I've ever had the displeasure of following. I hope to never see you again," the words pierced her like icicles, flooding her with cold and pain._

_She swallowed thickly, determined to put on a brave face._

_"I.. Release you from your service with thanks," the only thing that belied her calm exterior was the quaver of her voice. She turned on her heel, knowing he could smell her tears and doing her best not to let it ruin the tatters of her dignity. "Goodbye, Jinki."_

_He offered no words in return, and when she turned to look, he was already gone._

\--

After possibly too many long, grueling centuries of hunting for Jinki, he came to her.

It was so like him to show up at the last, when she was finally ready to give up. Gwiboon would’ve hit him, if he’d been close enough.

She had been alive for almost 800 years by that point, and really it was getting to be too much to handle for the former human.

The day of their reunion, his aura had shoved against hers, so hard she dropped the sandwich she’d been eating. Her eyes narrowed at the boldly stated challenge. She stood up, unclipping her gunmetal grey butterfly hairpin and grasping onto it tightly. Even as strong as she’d grown, her power still needed an object to be channeled into.

She stepped outside, shivering a little at the unnatural chill Jinki’s aura had left in the air.

She followed the residual energy trail, bringing her down a side street only two blocks away. She stopped short at the sight of two people in the alley instead of just the one. She frowned. It took a lot of skill to hide an aura completely. She hadn’t yet mastered the skill herself, just enough of her aura left unmasked by the spell to be a curiosity.

Less and less youkai visited the human world, and humans had left their spirituality behind as a relic of a forgotten time. So when a youkai came across her aura, well.. There was always a confrontation like this one.

Both people’s appearances shifted before Gwiboon’s eyes, leaving her to stare at the faces of Jinki and his longtime partner in crime, Jonghyun.

Gwiboon’s mouth tightened in a grimace. Jonghyun was the reason Jinki had left. Her anger towards him was the closest she’d come to feeling hatred in a long time.

“You look familiar,” Jonghyun started towards her. She helped him with his remembrance, casting off her own mundane disguise with a flourish. She made sure she kept a tight rein on the spell that hid her aura. She had no idea whether they would try attacking her, and she knew the best weapon she had in her arsenal was the element of surprise.

Jinki’s eyes widened with recognition.

“ _You?_ ” Jonghyun’s face contorted with disbelief. “You’re just a human. How..” Gwiboon bowed her head in greeting, deriving no small amount of pleasure from watching Jonghyun flounder.

“How unexpected, Jonghyun,” She smiled without humor. “After Jinki left with you, I wasn’t certain that he would remain with you, considering how brash you’re known to be. Especially since he was no longer the youkai you knew him to be.”

She needled just the right spot. He bristled, and stepped forwards, only to have Jinki hold out a hand to stop him.

“Your aura is completely different than when we last met,” he frowned minutely. “What have you done?” Gwiboon shrugged.

“It was nothing _I_  did,” she answered simply. The next moment, Taemin dropped out of the sky to stand next to her. She gave him a small, grateful smile. “Thank you for coming.”

“He is your familiar,” Jinki replied tonelessly. “It is his job to sense when his mistress is in danger.”

Taemin smirked.

“That’s the difference between you and me, Jinki. You thought it was a chore to take care of her. I asked to be her familiar because I don’t,” Jinki’s calm composure cracked at the insult. He growled, and a forked tongue slithered out of Taemin’s mouth in answer.

“I didn’t come here to fight, whatever you may think,” Gwiboon stepped in, stopping the fight before it began. “I came only because I knew it was you, Jinki. I’ve been looking for you for a long time. I just.. I wanted to say. I don’t blame you for leaving, and I’m sorry. You were wild when I met you,” Gwiboon offered him a heartbreaking smile. “Wild animals should never be tamed. I didn’t realize that until I was much, much older.”

Jinki’s composure cracked further. He stepped forward, but Jonghyun was quicker.

“Enough games, human,” he sneered. “Nevermind how you survived so long. You have met your end here.”

Gwiboon’s butterfly clip transformed into millions of thin, razor sharp wires, wrapping her body protectively. She let her aura slip free of the containment spell, slamming it against Jonghyun’s senses. His eyes widened, being physically driven back from the assault.

“I’ll meet my end where I please,” she rebuked sharply. “I am a _god_ , lowly youkai. It will take more than your cheap parlor tricks to kill me.”

Jonghyun rushed at her, and she sidestepped neatly, punching through his stomach in the process. Not a life threatening wound, but a definite annoyance. He fell to his knees, wheezing.

“Did you know, Jonghyun,” she whispered in his ear. “These wires are coated in poison from the Netherworld? A gift from the goddess of death herself.”

She heard a choked sound coming from Jinki’s direction, but dared not take her eyes off her opponent. How strange that he hadn’t attacked.

Perhaps some trace of feeling left gave him pause, kept him from attacking his former mistress.

Jonghyun struggled to his feet, tearing Gwiboon from her musings.

“Finally decided to get back to it, then?” she tensed, readying herself for his next move.

He was disappointing in his fury-driven predictability. A feint to the left, then striking at her heart. She tutted, punching another hole through his left shoulder.

She wasn’t trying to kill him. Just show him that he was outmatched.

“You’ve been beaten, Jonghyun,” Jinki called out from the sidelines. “Give up.”

Jonghyun’s eyes glowed red.

“I _will not_  be defeated by this.. little girl,” he ground out, blood pouring from his wounds. Gwiboon shook her head with disgust.

“You’ll wind up dead if you keep this up,” she pronounced. “I have no wish to end your life. But make no mistake, Jonghyun. I am not the kind hearted human who spared your life before. I _will_  kill you if you persist in attacking me.”

Jonghyun was silent, gauging her sincerity. He swayed on his feet, and Gwiboon knew then he was relenting. She transformed her wires back into a gunmetal grey butterfly hairclip, rubbing her fingers across the decorative wings. She went to him, lightly touching each wound.

And before his very eyes, Jonghyun’s wounds sealed.

“You haven’t changed much,” Jinki murmured from beside Gwiboon. She flinched, not realizing he was there. “Still helping people who just tried to kill you.”

Jonghyun let out a displeased hiss.

“You saved my life without asking, human girl,” he looked at her seriously. She didn't bother to correct his assumption. “Nevertheless, let’s strike a bargain. A life for a life.”

Gwiboon nodded, saying nothing. She turned to Jinki with a slight smile on her face, Jonghyun fading to the background for the both of them. Reaching slowly, she put a hand on top of his head. She smoothed his hair down, her hand coming to rest against his cheek.

“I’ve always felt like I left too much unsaid,” she confessed freely. “I waited for you to come back, at first. When you never did… I was heartbroken,” tears fell from her eyes, unbidden. She wiped them away hastily. “I roamed for centuries, looking for you, you know. I was ready to give up, ready to leave the whole situation behind, even unfinished as it was. Sensing your aura earlier was the answer to my many prayers. My final wish has been granted, being able to see you today. Thank you.”

Jinki’s expressionless mask started to dissolve, and Gwiboon guessed that he could sense the goodbye in her words.

“I told you countless years ago, but I guess you didn’t believe me. Still, even today it’s true. I love you, Jinki,” he colored slightly at the earnest confession. “...But. I’m finally ready to let go. I’m so tired, Jinki. Immortality was never meant for me,” Jinki grasped Gwiboon’s hands in his, facing her with a tender look of sadness.

“I understand,” his voice wavered when he spoke. “I’m sorry too for running away when my feelings got to be too big for me to handle. I loved you so much, Gwiboon. I wish I could’ve given you the things you wanted from me.”

Gwiboon started crying without attempting to hide it from Jinki.

“I h-hope you have a wonderful, long, love-filled life, Jinki,” she sobbed. He grabbed her face between his hands.

“W-wait, you can’t do this now, please, no,” Gwiboon kissed Jinki, gathering up all her vitality, strength, and godly powers and transferring them to the man in front of her. “You can do this, Jinki. I believe in you, and one day.. Maybe we’ll meet again..”

Gwiboon’s human form disappeared and transformed into a sparkling gunmetal grey butterfly, flying away towards the heavens. Taemin came to stand next to him, grasping his shoulder.

“She always meant for her powers to pass to you. She trusted you, Jinki. Don’t mess that up,” Taemin said sternly. He looked up and watched Gwiboon disappear.

Jinki swallowed the lump in his throat, refusing the tears that wanted to fall.

“I’ll miss you, Lady Gwiboon,” he whispered. “And if it’s possible… I’d like that too.”


End file.
